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Last week I was happy to be back in Kabul to do a series of in-person interviews, together with my national colleague, Javed Noorani, with a range of government, civil society, donor and private sector actors as part of our on-going consultations and research for an issue paper on the role of the extractive sector to support economic development and peace in Afghanistan. This issue paper will be produced as part of the German-Afghan two-year “Governance Forum Afghanistan: Govern4Afg” project implemented by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), intended to establish a platform for policy dialogue on governance topics in Afghanistan.

Building on the telephone and other interviews we had conducted before my trip, our meetings in Kabul touched on a wide range of topics, from capacity-building for both government and private sector on impact assessments, to community-based water management, to land rights, to women’s participation in the labor force, to seismic hazards and the accessibility and availability of geologic data, to conflict prevention and peace building, and to the government’s emerging plans for benefit-sharing by focusing on value chains. We were warmly welcomed for these meetings by representatives of the environmental regulator, the ministry of mines, special advisor to the President, a series of NGOs and private sector consultants, among others. We are continuing our interviews remotely and are working on the paper that will be presented at a Govern4Afg High-Level Symposium planned for February 2016 in Kabul.

About the issue paper

Afghanistan is estimated to hold $USD 1 to 3 trillion in untapped mineral deposits, ranging from lootable ones (such as gems, marble, gold, coal, lapis lazuli and the like) to more non-lootable ones (such as iron ore, copper, oil and gas). The extractive sector has existed for centuries in the country, though most of it is artisanal or small-scale, informal with dangerous working conditions, and products smuggled across the border unchecked or through collaboration among smuggling mafia and armed groups operating in the region. The National Unity Government in Kabul has recently set out an elaborate agenda to realize self-reliance over the coming years, according to which, the “extractives industries will be a key source for revenue generation over the next few decades and beyond,” as one of the three pillars alongside the agriculture and transport sectors. Very high hopes are pinned on the idea that extractive sector revenue can soon replace dwindling donor flows and support the government to provide security, avoid bankruptcy and support broader economic development.

Our issue paper will address three key issues related to the planned development of the extractive sector. First, the threshold question of whether the extractive sector can support development and peace in the Afghan context, and which principles may favor development and peace. Second, the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) process in Afghanistan, including current policy, practice, challenges and recommendations whether on process, substance or implementation of this ESIA process designed to minimize negative impacts and maximize positive outcomes. Third, the topic of extractive sector benefit-sharing and civil society participation, including a definition of the sector’s possible benefits (revenue and others), as well as current policy, practices and challenges concerning civil society participation and benefit-sharing.

Our issue paper on the extractive sector is one of six that will be produced as part of the German-Afghan two-year “Governance Forum Afghanistan: Govern4Afg” project implemented by the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), intended to establish a platform for policy dialogue on governance topics in Afghanistan. The Govern4Afg website will be launched in just a few weeks’ time.